Season 1, Episode 1 - "The Marooning"

39 Days, 16 strangers, 1 Survivor.

As the tribes scramble onboard a pirate ship to gather supplies, Survivor host Jeff Probst makes his first appearance to introduce himself and what these 16 strangers will disembark to. He explains the game, rules, and premise of the show. I know this episode is 20 years old dating back to 2000, but it feels like Jeff Probst never ages.

All screenshots via Amazon Prime Video.

The Tribes
- Tagi (orange buff) - Sean, Kelly, Rudy, Richard, Susan, Dirk, Stacy, Sonja
- Pagong (yellow buff) - Gervase, Colleen, BB, Ramona, Gretchen, Greg, Jenna, Joel

Intro to Tagi
The Tagi tribe starts out with many voices all trying to share their opinions like people do. I would imagine anyone put in the position that these pioneers were put into back in 2000 would have done the same. However...

One voice just sounds different. Ladies and gentlemen, America, please welcome, Richard Hatch.

Richard does what nobody else wants to. He wants to talk things out first. He wants to establish a plan and direction for the tribe, but that is not the majority opinion. So, he perches himself on top of a fallen tree. As he sits above the rest, he dawns a look of a man with an uphill battle on his hands. He begins a conversation with Susan (truck driver) about his frustration and desire to talk about why we are here, the process, etc. After she calls herself a redneck and enlightens the corporate cavalier that not everyone is interested in his plan we get our first Richard Hatch confessional (using the MTV Real World term) from him.

Richard says - “I’ve got the million dollar check written already. I mean I’m the winner. It’s that cocky attitude that makes people hate your guts. It’s how do I get there from here” Confidence to say the least and it's safe to say nobody else shares any quote quite like this one in episode 1.

All screenshots via Amazon Prime Video.

Other personalities begin to be introduced as Richard does get his meeting with the Tagi tribe. As Richard talks about getting people aligned and working together the camera catches the other tribe members appeasing him. You can tell that they are judging Richard greatly. Richard finishes his point and asks Sean to describe what his point is and Sean takes the opportunity to make a joke. It's amazing how much this interaction says about the differences between how Richard is playing versus how Sean is going to play the game of Survivor.

Intro to Pagong
We are introduced to the Pagong tribe through BB and Ramona finding the water source. A large barrel looking container that is buried in the ground. I feel that it must have been important for the people creating and producing the show to lay the foundation of how the survivors will actually survive on the island. Water, fire, supplies are all laid out in the opening and shown to the audience. It must have been reassuring for the original audience back in 2000. Anyway, BB mentions the strategy of knowing the water source and Ramona kind of laughs it off. This is a clear indicator of early seasons. Knowing what I know about Survivor, strategy like this could have been used as a major pawn in the game. BB isn't capable of that.

Rudy
The next character we are introduced to is Rudy. Military guy, straight forward, rasp of experience and wisdom in his voice. Being a military man, Rudy understands and believes in one person being in charge and he feels the tribe would be better off if that was the case. This is part of what makes Rudy great and so likeable. Rudy makes no bones about anything and doesn't particularly care what anyone thinks. And he knows he is wired this way and doesn't apologize for telling it like it is. However, in episode 1, Rudy, despite his age and what you learn about him to this point still has enough flexibility to play the game of Survivor. Rudy doesn’t get along with young people but he understands that "he needs to fit in with them, not the other way around." When you add all this together, it's easy to see why Rudy is a fan favorite.

Sonja
We are introduced to Sonja with her leg being cut and bleeding, talking about her age and the difficulty with it.
Sings “Bye Bye Blues” to Richard. Can you say foreshadowing?

Rats
Apparently rat traps were one of the supplies on board when the game started and immediately Richard used them to catch rats to use as bait for the fish traps. Combine that
rats crawling at camp and Susan (truck driver) talks about the first hot meal being rat soup. Too much rat talk. Mosquitos would be annoying and drive you nuts but rats is a whole other level. This really works for making the viewer understand how terrible the conditions are or will become in the game. Being a New Yorker, we know rats and only associate them with exploring subway tracks and city garbage. I don't think I could deal with sleeping with rats being around or the threat of them on me.

Back to BB (Pagong) who is the typical older guy who thinks he knows better. You would expect this attitude from Rudy but BB is different. The show has a camera montage of BB working while everyone else is in the ocean, walking the beach, drinking water, and NOT working.
Survivor Lesson: people don’t respond to characters like BB. They don't want to be told what to do or scolded by "their father". To end the scene, Gretchen (pre-K teacher) tries to get BB to take it easy. You can tell that Gretchen has a big heart. Anyone who works as a pre-K teacher must love kids and puts others before themselves. Though Gretchen is being true to herself, being a good person, and expressing concern to BB, these qualities are what make her a terrible Survivor player.

Tree Mail
Probst explains tree mail and it’s connection to the reward and immunity challenges. He explains how the challenges lead to Tribal Council where one tribe will vote someone off the island. I enjoy how the tree mail explains the challenge or gives clues to the challenge/reward in a riddle. Must be a fun job being a Survivor Postal Worker. They get to be creative, use a ton of symbolism, work for 39 days, and only have two stops on their route max.

1st Challenge - Quest for Fire
The first challenge in the history of Survivor makes sense to be a quest for fire. It has so much meaning in survival but also in the game. For the challenge each team had to guide Rafts with fire back to beach while lighting torches along the way until finally lighting a large final torch on the beach.
The Reward - 50 waterproof matches, easy future fire making ability, and most importantly, the Immunity Idol. Before the first challenge Probst explains the significance of the challenge, rewards, immunity idol, and tribal council. The coolest part of the first challenge has to be the location. They are literally on a sandbar in the middle of the water with this relatively elaborate challenge setup. The water is absolutely breathtaking. I'm a competitive person and would have been focused on the challenge but I'd like to think I would have taken a second to drink in the moment.
WINNER - Pagong

All screenshots via Amazon Prime Video.

Richard and Rudy
Rudy likes him, Richard likes Rudy’s straight forwardness and arrogance. Our first glimmer into an alliance. Alliances are everything in these shows, especially Survivor. Alliances can come out of numerous reasons whether it be shared mindsets, love interests, manipulation etc. In this case, the show establishes that these two are arrogant, straightforward and most of all not emotional about it. This is not the case when Stacy shares her disdain for Rudy before the first tribal council.

Tribal Council
- Richard has narrowed it down to 4
- Sonja feeling it will be luck but blames herself for Immunity challenge loss and not keeping up.
- Stacy wants to vote Rudy off because he is bossy
- Susan doesn’t care what Stacy and Kelly think, she wants people that move their ass.

First Tribal Council. All screenshots via Amazon Prime Video.

Probst explains Tribal Council and how someone will be held accountable for their actions, then narrates some of the events leading into Tribal Council. Again, from a "Rewatchable" stand point or a newcomer to Survivor stand point, the spoon feeding that Probst is doing about the setup of the game is important. The viewer benefits from it and in 2000 needs it. This is still part of this genre of shows today. Each season of Survivor or MTV's The Challenge needs to explain how the game works. The veteran viewers might be bored eventually but there is always newbies to the show that need it. Maybe I should keep that in mind as this blog develops.

Torch Ritual - on the island represents life, and the torches represent your life in the game. Got to love this part of the game, the symbolism is instantly iconic!

Probst Chat with Survivors
- How are you holding up physically? (to Sonja)
- What happened after Quest for Fire? (to everyone)
- A lot of reasons why you’re here. A lot of agendas. Whatever it is you have to survive tribal council. He explains voting, once they are cast, the vote is final, person voted off will leave tribal council immediately. I know that Probst's role of host is important but I think it is most important at tribal council. He is the closest one to the action and the bridge between the viewer and what is really going on within the tribe.

Voting
Sonja - 4, Rudy - 3, Stacy - 1

Sonja will forever be remembered as the first person voted off Survivor. All screenshots via Amazon Prime Video.

Probst Final Thought
"Somber congratulations, you have fire"

Simple, direct, effective. Fitting way to end episode 1.

Sonja Exit Interview
“I think this has been an awesome experience”
“Being the first one voted out is humiliating but if I were in their shoes, I would have done the same thing.”
I guess somebody had to be the first person ever voted off Survivor. It is fitting that Sonja is the one. She had no confidence and agreed with the vote! Unfathomable.
Under no circumstance would I ever feel that way. Anyway, congratulations Sonja on the title of first survivor voted off and establishing the first lesson of how NOT to play the game.

CATEGORIES and AWARDS
1 - Biggest Move
The biggest move of the episode goes to Richard. His quote about the million dollar check having his name on it is pretty profound. It says a lot about him, his corporate trainer background, and his confidence in the game. He laid it out there early and you have to respect it.

2 - Biggest Mistake
The biggest mistake of the episode was Sonja falling during the challenge. She knew it, the viewer knew it, and unfortunately for her, the tribe knew it, and she was voted off.

3 - Challenge Corner
Quest for Fire was a simple challenge. Loved the location and setup. It was a fitting challenge for the first episode of Survivor. Fire is crucial in any survival situation and it is symbolic in the game. A+

4 - Trending Up
Sean - people like an easy going, joke telling, nipple pierced, doctor from Long Island vibe. Will it lead to him winning? Maybe not, but people won't hate him like...

5 - Trending Down
BB - His personality is not going to last. He is going to wear people out as he already did when they were building the raft or bed or whatever. People don't want to be bossed around, especially when they are competing for $1M.

6 - Strategy Award
Richard - him and Rudy are the only ones that have a strongly revealed direction in the game. Richard's Babe Ruth like point to the million dollar check is what makes legends never die.

7 - Casting Couch
Hard to tell at this point in the season but they have old and young and people from different walks of live. They laid an egg with a character like Sonja but hit a home run with Richard and Rudy.

8 - Best Quote
“I’ve got the million dollar check written already. I mean I’m the winner. It’s that cocky attitude that makes people hate your guts. It’s how do I get there from here” - Richard

I love this level of confidence. I gravitate to this type of reality show character. You have to love the ones who put it out there that they are the best. Everyone wins when a character like this is on the show.

9 - Who won the episode?
Tough one. Toss up between Richard, because of his Joe Namath guarantee and Jeff Probst leading us into the world that we will know and love for the next two decades plus. Probst gets the nod.

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